Maybe people see a competently shot character study revolving around Paul Giamatti and a killer cast and go, "With this formula I am mandated to positively review this. I will ignore the fact that it displays a Tommy Wiseau-level understanding of human relationships."

Barney's Version is a frightfully stupid manic pixie dream girl movie with a prestige picture coat of paint. Rosamund Pike’s character has no reason to care about, much less love, Paul Giamatti’s alcoholic, adulterous, soft-core porn(?) producing murder…